This brings us to the end of our week on GED® test science. There is just one more posttest in between you and the completion of this course! This week covered a variety of topics, providing a review of many of the scientific fundamentals that you would learn in high school.

At this point you should feel fairly comfortable answering questions relating to:

1. The atom

2. Forms of matter

3. Energy

4. Chemistry

5. Solutions

6. Newton’s laws of motion

7. Waves

8. The cell

9. Biological evolution

10. Human systems

11. The interdependence of organisms

12. The big bang

13. The earth

14. The atmosphere

15. Earth’s resources.

And remember, the most important skill to have is the ability to think clearly, to organize your thoughts, and to use your time wisely. All of you have the ability to pass the GED® test, and after this final posttest, go back and evaluate your performance in this class, check your test grades, and see what you should review before taking the actual GED® test.

HELPFUL TIPS

1. When solving a numerical problem, if you do not know the formula required to answer the question, backtrack and solve for the different answer choices. For example, let’s say the question asks you to find the wavelength of a 700 Hz sound wave with a velocity of 140 m/s. Your answer choices are:

A.0.35m

B. 0.2m

C. 0.17m

D. 0.25m

Even if you can’t remember the formula for wavelength, if you remember that Hz stands for Hertz, and that it is equal to 1/s, then you can solve by dividing the velocity of the sound wave by the number of Hertz to find the answer. When dividing the two, the seconds cancel out, leaving us with an answer in meters, which is exactly what we need: (140m/s) / (700 1/s) = 0.2 m.

2. When answering a question that uses terminology that you are unfamiliar with, don’t pick the easiest or most obvious answer. Think about what the question is asking, all of the information you know about the question, and consider every answer choice. Sometimes, for lack of time, we’re tempted to pick the first answer choice that we can associate with what the question is asking. These kinds of answers are there on purpose to trip us up when we aren’t paying close attention.

3. Look for descriptive terms within the question that will give you clues as to the nature of what is being asked. Look for synonyms (words with similar meanings) to the key terms in the question. This will be especially helpful if you do not know one of the terms being used. If the question says, “Amylase is an enzyme that helps break down food,” even if you don’t know the word “amylase,” you are given the information that 1. It’s an enzyme, which means that it is in the body and 2. that it helps break down food, meaning that it is part of the digestive system. Since it is an enzyme you know that it is not a physical structure, but rather a chemical one. This will greatly assist you in answering whatever the question asks and makes it clear that careful reading is really the key to correct answers!